The sanctioned oil tanker M/T Bella 1 transmitted repeated distress alerts to all ships starting at 3:27 a.m. PST on December 21, with the most recent at 9:13 a.m. PST from position 19.02N, 57.23W in the western Atlantic northeast of Venezuela, according to an X post by @quietd0cket shared over the past hour. Positions ranged between 18°-19°N and 58°-57°W, trending north while west longitude decreased, indicating general northeast to east-northeast movement, @quietd0cket stated. From the first position at 18.25N, 58.15W at 11:39 UTC to the last at 19.02N, 57.23W at 17:13 UTC, the tanker covered 62 nautical miles in 5.58 hours at an average speed of 11 knots. This update follows confirmation from an official to NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer at 3:46 a.m. UTC today that U.S. military forces remain in active pursuit of the Venezuela-linked tanker in the southern Caribbean off the country's coast. Meyer previously reported at 2:46-3:16 a.m. UTC that M/T Bella 1 refused boarding and fled earlier on December 22. The pursuit builds on U.S. Coast Guard operations, including seizures marking the third such action in the region. Separately, a U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call arrived at Luis Muñoz MarÃn International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, during a prior period of U.S. military activity in the Caribbean, as noted by Global_Mil_Info citing aviation spotter pinchito.avgeek.
